Soldering flux



Patented Jan. 8, 1952 SOLDERING FLUX Benjamin M. Stright, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to General Railway Si ter, N. Y.

gnal Company, Roches- No Drawing. Application June 1, 1949,

Serial No. 96,631

This invention relates to fluxes and particularly to fluxes for soldering operations where it is desired to form a permanent bond between the metal and solder.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved soldering flux which will be effective in removing surface films and securing a close and permanent bond and at the same time will leave no corrosive residues and by-products injurious to the soldered joint.

Generally speaking, the desirable attributes of a soldering flux are the efiicient removal of'films of oxides and infusible materials from the surfaces of the base metal and the molten solder so as to create metal surface conditions for the solder to flow freely and adhere with an intimate metal-to-metal contact with the parts to be united over a desired area, and also the protection of the surfaces so cleaned and prepared from further oxidation or contamination during the soldering operation, while at the same time permitting the flux to be displaced and the molten solder to flow freely and spread over the desired area. Also, a satisfactory flux for many soldering operations, more particularly in connection with electrical connections between wires, terminals and the like, should not leave a residue which is corrosive or hygroscopic. A residue that is corrosive will in time cause damaging corrosion of the parts adjacent the soldered joint, and often cause the soldered connection itself to weaken or break down. A hygroscopic residue permits the accumulation of moisture, which tends to form a solution of the residue and make it more corrosive in its action, to accelerate normal oxidation process in and around the soldered connection, and to set up conditions for continuing deterioration of the soldered connections by electrolytic action. Further, for eflicient use in many soldering operations, such as hot iron soldering, dipping of electrical contacts and the like, it is desirable that the flux should be rapid in its action, so that there is no significant time restriction upon the successive motions of the operator in applying the flux, solder and heat, which might otherwise slow up the soldering operation and tend togive a larger proportion of imperfect soldered joints where the manipulation is faulty. Finally, the flux should be relatively cheap, easily handled and applied, nontoxic, and non-injurious to the skin, and free of objectionable odors or fumes.

1 The flux of this invention comprises an organic acid, an amine or amide, and a wetting agent in a suitable vehicle. For ordinary sol- 7 Claims. (Cl. 148-23) dering operations a flux in the liquid form is generally preferable; and a typical formula for such a liquid flux comprises With regard to the above ingredients, the'proportions of water and alcohol as the vehicle is subject to considerable variations dependent upon the type of soldering operation and use of the flux. Water tends to boil and cause a bubbling or sputtering action during the soldering operation, and for many uses it is desirable to include a substantial amount of alcohol to restrict this action. For some applications it may be expedient to use alcohol entirely for the vehicle. Alcohol, however, tends to evaporate when the flux is used in the ordinary way in an open container, and a certain amount of water is desirable to restrict this rate of evaporation. Approximately equal proportions of water and alcohol as indicated in the above formula represent a compromise which has been found to be acceptable for the average or ordinary soldering conditions.

Distilled water is preferably used to eliminate chlorides, calcium, ,magnesium, and ironsalts often present in ordinary water, which would tend to. leave a residue capable'of setting up conditions for galvanic action in the presence of moisture. Completely denatured grain alcohol is preferred, but other types of alcohols may be used so long as they are compatible with the flux ingredients and will evaporate quickly during the soldering operation without leaving an objectionable residue, with the exception of methyl alcohol, which is not suitable due to its toxic effect.

The function of the wetting agent, such, for example, as Santomerse, is to reduce the surface tension of the fluxing agents in solution so that these fluxing agents will spread and flow readily and quickly over the surface to be cleaned. Santomerse is a surface active wetting agent. Its composition is a salt of an aromatic sulphonic acid. Wetting agents of the alkyl aryl sulphonate type are particularly effective inpromoting surface active properties as well as detergent properties when used in the flux formula. De-

3 tergent properties are important since impurities lifted from the surface of the metal by the iiuX are not readily deposited. The wetting agent should also be chemically stable to acids and alkalies of considerable strength.

The flux of this invention may also be made with a pastevehicler Asuitable formula for the flux in its'paste form is as follows:

Urea Wetting agent Petrolatum (refined) Grams v Lactic acid 20-40 able to other organic acids, such as oleie and palmitic,because it is inexpensive, non-toxic, and

leaves very little residue, which is essentially non-corrosive and definitely non-hygroscopic. The. firming: action of lactic acirtin cleaning the surfaces. o i the base metal and; molten solder is relatively efiective and; persistent under the applicatiorr. of heat, more particularly for copper, brass; and bronze, but has some limitations in its efiecti veness. in. cleaning. some metal: surfaces,

such as. steel. .Also, lactic. acid in comparison with other fluxing agents does. not: seem. to have the desirable reaction with the surfiace oi the base metal; to prepare it for the most effective flow." and-i adhesion of the molten solder.

The amine. or amide combined with. theorg-a-nic acid in the, flux. of. this. invention is preferably urea, because itis, comparatively inexpensive, nonrirritating to the. skin and non-ofiensive. in

' odor when volatflizedduring thesoldering operation. Other amines. and. amides may be. used, such as acetamide; and. ethylene. diamine. Urea is. an active and-efiective fluxing. agent for. cleaning, and. preparing base metal surfaces'for soldering, but. decomposes, or volatilizescuickly when heated tothe temperaturefor satisfactory-soldering. C.onsequently,,urea alone asra ruledoes. not maintain a. clean surface. condition. long enough for the solder to. spread freely and give satisfactory results in ordinary soldering operations, and; is. largely limited to. quick. spot. soldering.

I have found .thatlactic. acidv and urea together cnoperatein. someway to-giv amuch. better fluxing. action than either alone One satisfactory and accepted. way of. determining fluxing action is the conventional spreading test, where, a. given quantity of. solder is. heated one. firmed-metal surtjace at. a; controlled temperature; and pressure, andtha area-oi spreader. this solder isobserved. I. have. found, uponz applying. this spreading test to various. surface conditions. oi. metals; that. the flux of. invention,, including both lactic acid and urea, give, approximately twice. as much smead. as. either. lactic. acid. or-urea alone, It has also. been. observed that. the: spread. of. this flux. at. least. double. the spread. obtained. with various. other commercial fluxes: that, have been tested. The. same. superiority in. fluxing action is noted-in the. results; of. ordinary hot iron and dip soldering for wire terminals. and, the. like, wherethe. extent of, spread. of the solder over; the surfaces and throughout thestrands of. wire: ma bereadilyobserved.v

It. has been recognized that lactic; acid and urea are. both fluxing' agents, and. it has been observed; that each; is. efiective with. certain limitations; whenused separately; My investiga-- tions show? that a superior fiuxing' action is obtained: by using both lactic acid and urea in certain approximate proportions. The reasons for this superior efiect are not thoroughly understood. In general, the results are attributed to the fact that the combined and concurrent flux ing action of lactic acid and urea gives a metal surface that is cleaner and better prepared for spreading. of the; molten solder than, either alone, and to the fact that the surface condition obtained by urea is maintained, in spite of its volar tile character, by the presence of the lactic acid until. there is time for the solder to spread over the soldering areas. Possibly there is some chemical. reactiorrbetween the lactic acid and the urea: when heated to the soldering temperature which accentuates in some unknown manner the fluxing. action. to give a surface condition not obtainable with either alone.

Although the theory of the interactions and effects of lactic acid and urea when used together are uncertain, the results of spreading tests and. ordinary soldering, operations have demonstrated; that their combined action, to gether: with a. wetting: agent, gives: rapidly and efiectively a superior surface condition for the flow and adhesion. of the: molten: solder; without any significant residue whiclr is either corrosive orhydroscopicz. Tests hare beerrmadeon alarge number of, meta-lsurfaces. of silver, copper, brass, bronze, tin plate, niclcef plate, cadmium plate,

and steel; and in each case. there-was obtainedv a bright and. clean: soldered connection, which without extra. surface treatment for the residue: garenmihdicationeofi cor-r0 on ondeteriw ration atv or" around: the soldered-E oint: afterexposurez 1111a. humid; atmosphere for an: extended period. ofv time, in; marked; contrast to other commercial: soldering fluxes testedunder comparable conditions...

With regard to: the. proportions: of lactic acid and urea for. suitable fiuidng. action under ordinary soldering." conditions. my investigations in dicate; that a certain amount. oilactic. acid, in theorderof. 15: to; 20%- by 'volumei'n. the liquid fiux,-is-. needed to obtaimtheidesired cleaning effact. and surface protection that: additional quantities; give no: significant improvement in results Similarly-,, quantity oi? urea in the order of. 2- to, 61%: by weight.- in: the. liquid flux has. been iound; to; give satisfactory results. while: no significant improvement: is: obtained by the use or"- urea muchin excess on this: amount. Consequently, although the relative. proportions: of- 1a:- tic: acid and; urea do not seem to. be critical, the quantities indicated are prfierablyiemployedr to obtain the -desired. fluxing actions ecenoinically;

-I.claim:.-.

1.. A soldering: flux for metals leaving am es sentially non-corrosnze nonwhysrosccpic residue consisting, of. a. vehicle: inciudingr'a-wete tingagent,, and a combination. oi acfii fir agents consisting. essentially or a. major. proportion-of lactic acid; and minor proportion of. a. compound selected. from, the, groupccnsisti-ng. of an amine andan. amide. both. the.- acid. and the. compound. having. fluxing. characteristics andacting iointly as fiuxing agents said, amine. or amide fiuxing, agent, being. selected. from the. group. consisting of urea, acetamide and ethylenadiarnine 2. An, essentially non-corrosive soldering flux for metal soldering consisting. of a vehicle; ineluding a. wetting agent, and. a. combination... of active agents consisting essentially of. a. mailer proportion of lactic acid and a minor proportion of urea acting-jointly as fluxing agents, sai'diurea constituting at least two percent by weight of thetotal fliix.

3. An essentially non-corrosive soldering flux for metals consisting of a liquid vehicle of water and alcohol including a wetting agent, and a combination of active agents consisting essentially of a major proportion of lactic acid and a minor proportion of urea in said vehicle to act jointly as fluxing agents and constituting by weight a minor proportion of the total flux, said urea constituting from 2 to 6 percent by weight of the total flux.

4. A soldering flux of the non-corrosive type consisting essentially of a liquid vehicle including a wetting agent, urea as one fluxing agent constituting from 2 to 6 percent of the total flux, and lactic acid as an additional fluxing agent in a major proportion relative to said urea.

5. An essentiallynon-corrosive soldering flux for metals consisting of a liquid vehicle of water and alcohol including less than one percent by weight of a wetting agent, and lactic acid and urea in said vehicle acting jointly as fluxing agents and constituting by weight a minor proportion of the total flux, the said lactic acid being in greater proportion than the said urea.

6. A liquid soldering flux of the non-corrosive type consisting essentially of 80 to 85 percent by volume of a liquid vehicle of water and alcohol, to percent of lactic acid by volume, and 2 to 6 percent of urea by weight.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 325,579 Waite -1- Sept. 1, 1885 1,785,135 McQuaid Dc. 16, 1930 1,785,155 Taylor Dec. 16, 1930 1,929,895 McBride Oct. 10, 1933 1,989,557 Muller Jan. 29, 1935 2,089,095 Magill Aug. 3, 1937 2,095,335 Kofke Oct. 12, 1937 2,480,723 Evans et a1. Aug. 30, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 353,758 Great Britain July 30, 1931 614,708 Germany June 17, 1935 

5. AN ESSENTIALLY NON-CORROSIVE SOLDERING FLUX FOR METALS CONSISTING OF A LIQUID VEHICLE OF WATER AND ALCOHOL INCLUDING LESS THAN ONE PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF A WETTING AGENT, AND LACTIC ACID AND UREA IN SAID VEHICLE ACTING JOINTLY AS FLUXING AGENTS AND CONSTITUTING BY WEIGHT A MINOR PROPORTION OF THE TOTAL FLUX, THE SAID LACTIC ACID BEING IN GREATER PROPORTION THAN THE SAID UREA. 